Page 66 of Savage Ruin
THIAGO
Twenty-five years is not enough time. Whatever the bastard wants, I can guarantee it’s not going to be sunshine and roses. Money probably. Regardless, it’s the last thing we need right now. Grabbing the burner phone, I dial.
He picks up on the first ring.
“Meu filho, back from the grave,” he drawls in his signature gravelly voice.
It’s cold and brutal, like the harshest of winter days, and brings back so many memories. Not the good kind either.
“A morte não me quis,” I remark sarcastically, telling him death didn’t want me.
“Death is truly capricious,” he returns. “But fortuitous, too. Meet me at your private hangar. Thirty minutes. Come alone.” He hangs up.
I relay the information to the three sitting in front of me, who immediately protest the meeting.
“He’s a wily old bastard, but I’ll be fine. He wants something, and he can’t get it if I’m dead.”
“No,” Henley states firmly. “This could be a trap. What if he’s the enemy?” She throws her hands up in the air. “If you go without your security team, then you open the door for us to leave without ours. Which is it? Leave them here or take them with you?” She crosses her arms across her chest, waiting for me to decide.
The sight of her passionate blue eyes staring me down stirs certain parts of me, but I tamp it down. Leaving without our security is non-negotiable for all of us. She’s right. Damn it. “I’ll take Thomas and one other.”
“Mitch,” she says immediately.
The big guy will be seen as an immediate threat. “No.”
Mateo holds up a finger. “Allison Engles. She’s the lead for SEI’s security, including the hangar. Her military background is impressive. And, most importantly, your father will not see her as a threat.”
Good call. I pick up the phone. “Jameson, are Thomas and Allison on duty? Have them meet me in the lobby in five. Thanks.”
The phone rings.
Mateo notices the caller’s identity and arches a brow.
I shake my head, not wanting to discuss it right now and silence the ringer.
They all three share a glance. Wonder what that’s all about? Is there something else going on? I sigh.
“Head home, and I’ll meet you there when I’m done,” I advise them.
The phone rings in my hand. “Sterling, I’m on my way out the door. Can this wait?”
He spews a ton of information at me, but my brain can’t get past the fact that I’m meeting with my father in twenty minutes. Merda! I’ve got to go. Running a hand over my face, I try to find my focus.
“Sterling… I know this is important, but I can’t talk right now. I—"
The phone is taken out of my hand. “Sterling, Grayson. Call me. I’ll be taking point on Henley’s stalker.” He pauses. “Yep, that too. Great. Give me five minutes.” Hanging up, he tosses me the phone. “Go! What are you waiting on? I’ll take care of things with Zane and his team.”
I hesitate. It’s my job to manage these things, not Grayson’s. I don’t have time to debate, though. Scooping up both phones, I give Henley a hard kiss and head out.
Allison and Thomas are waiting in the lobby. We load up the SUV and head out. How do I explain my father? Nobody knows we fled to America and took a different last name, and I don’t want the information to get out.
The only reason I’m meeting with my father is because he could make our lives extremely complicated. “Marcos’ picture drew my father here. We haven’t spoken in twenty-five years, but the reason I need you on alert is he works for the cartel. He’s pretty high up—their accountant, in fact. The exterior might look like a weak old man, but inside he’s pure evil. Don’t underestimate him.”
Ten minutes later, we screech to a halt outside SEI’s private hangar. A small jet is waiting nearby. “Ready?”
We get out and head toward the jet. An old man appears at the top of the stairs. “I told you to come alone.”
The voice stops me cold. “The years haven’t been kind to you, have they?” I smile maliciously. “And I don’t answer to you. If you don’t like them here, we can leave.”
